Us
by Shard's Angel
Summary: A very AU fic set in real life meaning Randy and Gale as characters and it's my way of coping with Gale's accident, from which we all wish him a successful and speedy recovery


Us

_A/N: Some of the facts I wasn't too sure on so please forgive the vague bits cause I just threw it all together. I just had to write this when I read about what happened to Gale in the paper today (I totally and completely teared up, I'll admit it) So, whether you love or hate the idea of Randy and Gale together, this is what I came up with to make myself feel better._

* * *

Gale Harold had just finished going over the script for the next episode of _Desperate Housewives_ that was going to be filmed Tuesday when he decided to head back to his L.A. apartment. His head was full of thoughts as he strapped on his helmet and straddled his motorcycle; most of them were stupid thoughts. Well, not entirely stupid. He was thinking about all the focus on his secretive love life, not that people actually knew if he had one, he was thinking about his career, where he wanted to go with it, and who he wanted to end up with.

Sighing out a breath in a very Brian Kinney type manner Gale started up the bike and revved off down the street. As the wind whipped by him he started to think back to three years ago when he ended his longest acting gig so far. People had him under a microscope for playing a gay man, a very unapologetic gay man at that, who fucked practically every man in sight. Every man including a blonde teenager.

It was getting late and it had been a long day. Gale felt his concentration start to wander off as his body went on autopilot and his mind drifted towards stored away thoughts and memories of his costar from _Queer As Folk_.

From the first day they met and started rehearsing together Gale and Randy had been instantly comfortable with each other like long term friends would be. In the spare time between shootings the two of them were close to inseparable, using their down time to hang out and get to know each other. Randy was a proud and out gay man but still had some uncertainties about himself and found that the older man was a warm source of support and advice that he'd rarely found before.

As taillights of cars blurred by Gale's range of vision his memories headed towards the end of the season 3 shooting. Brian and Justin had gotten back together and were starting to deal with life again, and while they were doing that on the show Gale started to think about his own life. Being surrounded by they pure queerness of all that was QAF he'd started to explore some unanswered questions he'd had from his teenaged years about his sexuality. No one at the point was really definite on what it was, and truth be told neither was he.

When Randy found him in his trailer concealed by hazy cigarette smoke the blonde instantly knew something was up. They were just that connected and in tune with each other. So, after opening all the windows and the door and dragging his costar out into the fresh air, Randy started on the long task of getting a half-stoned Gale to talk to him.

After over twenty minutes Randy thought with a wry smirk that what they were doing was almost like Brian and Justin, only Justin had better results. Finally, the drugs started to either take effect or wear off (neither of them could really say for sure) and Gale started talking, letting all his confusions and frustrations spill out to the one person who would understand them more than anyone.

"_And so," Gale concluded his very long, one breath confession, "I don't know what to think of myself anymore." He turned to the blonde, hoping that he'd have some bright insight as to what to say to that._

_Randy remained silent for a minute or two, mulling over what the older man had just revealed to him. The two of them were leaning against Gale's trailer as the afternoon sun started to set on them and other than the occasional crewmember passing they'd had their entire conversation in private. "Well, I think that in order to really accept yourself, whatever way you are, you have to like where you are. Does that make sense?" Randy asked, looking over at his friend._

"_Not at all." Gale was quick to reply. "Especially because I don't like where I am. I don't like being in the middle." He was starting to pout like a little kid, making Randy smile a version of Justin's sunshine smile at the pure cuteness._

"_Then in that case, all you can do is keep heading towards where you think you want to go. And if you get lost, that's what friends are for." Randy kissed him on the temple._

After the ending of season 5, Randy and Gale had kept in pretty good contact, by e-mail and phone or the occasional time when they were both in the same city at the same time. But over time they started to drift apart, and Gale hated it that his one true friend and confidant was heading further and further away from him.

The sudden blaring of a horn and squealing of tires smashed into Gale's thinking as he looked up only to see a blinding light.

* * *

"Randy! You coming or what?" a loud voice drifted into the bedroom where Randy Harrison was currently getting dressed. For a moment and image of Brian giving a witty response to that flashed across the blonde's mind, but he shook his head to rid of it. After three years he still hadn't quite managed to achieve not thinking about his five year long costar, but he was trying to move on.

"Just a second!" Randy called out to his boyfriend of a bit over five years. Randy loved Simon, there really wasn't any doubt about it, but lately he had started to feel a little confined and edgy though he didn't know why. The day before had been the worst when he couldn't concentrate on anything and felt like his body was completely wired up.

Once he was sure he looked like the casual guy he was, Randy made his way through his New York apartment into the kitchen to greet his boyfriend he shared it with. Simon had cooked up some eggs and bacon with a side of toast for breakfast and gave Randy a sweet good morning kiss as he poured the coffee.

Randy managed a smile for his partner before picking up the _New York Times_ and flipping to the entertainment section. Simon had just sat down at the kitchen table when Randy leaped up and nearly knocked the whole thing over.

"Randy? You okay honey?" Simon looked up at the blonde a bit concerned. Randy's upper body was concealed by the newspaper as his head was firmly stuck in it and staring at the small story off in the corner.

When he'd flipped open the section and scanned down the stories the first thing that had caught his eye was the picture of a very familiar person. It was the small headline to the story that had caused Randy's leap into the air as he clutched the paper so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Randy?" Simon was getting seriously worried, as Randy had not moved or even breathed for over a minute. He got up and cautiously moved behind his partner to see what this was all about.

When he glanced over Randy's shoulder the first thing he saw was a headshot of Gale Harold, who he knew had worked with Randy in _Queer As Folk_. The second thing he saw were the words. _'Housewives' actor injured in motorcycle accident._ Randy's eyes were moving rapidly from side to side as he read the short article over and over again, feeling like his entire world had just collapsed around him.

"He's in critical condition." He finally uttered, his voice sounding far away and so filled with pain that Simon didn't know what he should do. "Oh my god no!" the dam suddenly burst and Randy nearly collapsed onto the floor but Simon quickly grabbed him and helped him over to the sofa.

"Breathe Randy, just breathe, it's going to be alright." Simon tried to soothe the hyperventilating blonde but with no success.

"Oh my god, he can't, he couldn't, Gale he-" Randy was literally gasping for breath. He'd always rolled his eyes at Justin's overemotional reactions to things, but right then he didn't give a care that he was acting just like the blonde he'd brought to life on screen. His friend was hurt. "I have to go see him." he suddenly seemed to catch his breath and stated resolutely.

Simon just stared at his boyfriend in disbelief. "But, he's in California, we're in New York. That's opposite sides of the country here sweetie." He tried to talk some sense into the blonde, but Randy was now in control of himself and completely set on going to see his friend, and nothing was going to stop him.

* * *

He didn't know how, but somehow his raw and scratched up feeling throat let out a soft groan when he felt himself getting pulled back into the world of the living. He had no idea what happened, or where he was, but he did know that his shoulder felt like a sledgehammer had taken a few whacks at it and his head hurt like the seven hells.

Forcing his eyes to crack open Gale nearly shut them again when the sliver of morning sunlight peeking in through the curtains hit them. _Where the fuck am I?_ he wondered as he tried to move his head and take in his surroundings.

Mellow toned walls, quite a few beeping machines, tubes hooked up to…parts of his body, definitely a hospital. But he wasn't too sure why he was there. Feeling a soft weight on the narrow bed next to him Gale managed to slowly move his head to look to his right. His eyes widened a bit when he saw the mess of blonde hair sprawled over the covers as the owner of it was dozing soundly in a pulled up chair with a black coat slung over the back.

Opening his mouth to try his voice Gale was a bit put out by the fact that he couldn't even emit a squeak without his throat feeling like he'd swallowed fire. Deciding to try another way to get the blonde's attention Gale gingerly shifted his leg a bit to nudge at the blonde head. The covers muffled a soft moan as the blonde slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Gale!" the blonde was suddenly wide awake and would have been all over the brunette but at the last moment held himself back when he remembered the bandaged head and arm in a sling.

Gale tried to communicate with his eyes that he needed something to drink, pronto. Randy tilted his head to the side in slight confusion as he watched Gale's eyes look at his before turning pointedly to the cart that patients ate food from. Finally, "Oh! Water! Got it." He got up and headed into the bathroom.

_Blondes._

"Let's see how we're going to get this to work." Randy said once he came back with a glass of water and slowly helped Gale to sit up with an arm around his shoulders. "There you go." He said happily as Gale drank thirstily from the glass.

"Thank you." Gale leaned back into his pillows, his voice sounding hoarse as heck but at least it was still there. "Why are you here?"

"What do you mean why am I here? I sit down to breakfast and expect to have a leisurely time to read the newspaper and then I see that you've been in an accident. You have no idea how scared I was for you, it was like-" Randy suddenly caught himself and what he was about to say, inwardly laughing at the words that seemed to automatically pop into his head.

"Like you got bashed all over again?" Gale raised an eyebrow and managed a half smirk.

"Now I know how Brian must have felt. God, you really have no idea how worried I was Gale." Randy sat back down in his chair and leaned his elbows on the bed.

"You came all the way from New York just to see me?"

"Well duh, I had to make sure that when you woke up you knew that I actually cared enough to piss off my boyfriend and hop on the next plane here without so much as even packing any clothes." Randy glanced behind him to see the only thing he'd actually brought along, his coat.

"Thank you." Gale smiled, feeling himself become drowsy again.

"What a couple of friends we are huh?" Randy laughed a bit, thinking about how very unconventional their friendship was as a straight maybe gay guy and a gay guy who had television sex for five years.

"Well, we're us." Gale replied softly as he drifted off, sounding like another tall proud brunette who fell in love with a blonde with dazzling blue eyes.

"And we always will be." Randy agreed with a smile as he leaned forward to kiss his other half before he fell into sweet slumber.

_

* * *

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A/N: Yes, I know this isn't one of my best, and it's not all thought out, but I needed something to help me get some peace to sleep tonight. This one was for Gale, all of my friends and I are hoping he'll be back on his feet in no time.


End file.
